The BC NDP has announced that it will be cancelling the secondary-suite incentive program two years earlier than anticipated, and using the leftover $40 million to fund other initiatives.
Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon said the move was necessary given the "uncertain economic times" we find ourselves in amid threats from the United States and President Donald Trump.
"I think we have to reassess programs that we'd like to have compared to programs we need absolutely right now," Kahlon told the Vancouver Sun. "Right now, the federal government has a program set to launch, which actually has more dollars available than ours, and has, I think, a lot more flexibility in their programming. We already are hearing that program is a little more appealing to many folks that are in this space than the one that we have."
The decision to axe the provincial program was criticized by the BC Conservatives.
"The BC NDP promised relief for homeowners — now they're pulling the rug out from under them," Langley-Abbotsford MLA Harman Bhangu wrote in a post on X. "Cancelling the secondary suite incentive program is just the latest broken promise from David Eby's government. They said whatever they needed to win — now hardworking families are left paying the price."
Under the program, homeowners could receive up to $40,000 in forgivable loans to construct secondary suites, defined as a "complete living unit with its own kitchen, sleeping area, and washroom facilities contained within another dwelling."
As of March 2025, 200 loans has been pre-approved or approved, with a further 50 or so still under review. The final deadline to submit is March 30.
Under the aforementioned federal program, homeowners could be eligible for low-interest loans of up to $80,000.
